Way back @ school in Berkeley, our skin talk focused mostly on blotting paper and blackheads. Like pretty much everyone else we knew we were confused by our skin (a lot) and had trouble finding good products. Does it work? Is that true? Are you sure? Confusion sparked curiosity. Curiosity morphed into fascination – then borderline obsession. We wanted some real answers. Skincare became a puzzle we wanted to solve.

Simplicity, efficiency and getting it right

Kim moves at warp speed, throws out all the manuals and learns by doing. She's a statistics geek turned marketer, an efficiency expert with a bullet journal addiction. Margot is a total skeptic who asks way too many questions and reads all the fine print. Kim is happy to embrace a 10-step morning routine, Margot counts more on blueberries and salmon to get that glow. Begins with Skin is a mashup of the two of us. Samples and science. Proof and personal experience. Healthy results. Coming from opposite ends of the spectrum on a lot of things, we agree on simplicity, efficiency and getting it right.

What we believe

We believe no one should have to brave the big bad world of skincare shopping alone. We don't think doing something as basic as washing our faces should involve health risks. We believe in telling it like it is: what works, what doesn't. We like skin care as a way to put beautiful micro-moments into our days. Our mission is simple – make it easy for you to find the best, most beautiful-to-use products for your skin.

Our small assortment of the very best

We filter in products with ingredients that work, and filter out ingredients considered potentially unhealthy. We choose products that are made with care by people we believe in. We look for affordable options, and include things we think are splurge-worthy.

Ingredient deep dive

IN WITH THE GOODWe focus on getting the most proven ingredients into your routine. We're about science and skin nutrients. Not marketing BS.

OUT WITH THE BADWe keep a long list of undesirable chemicals out of our store. Some ingredients commonly used in skin products can be bad for skin and bring health risks. Learn more

People approved

We test a hundred products to end up with a handful. We read thousands of reviews and comments. We want to know everything we can about how people feel about a product, how they're using it, the results they see.